LIVING IN THE PAST
by Kakkabrat
Summary: Mirari Timeline. When Gohan goes to fight the Androids for the final time, there's one minor change. Gohan lives. See what this will change when the time comes to warn Goku of the heart virus.


Okay, this is the new and improved version of this story, I hope you'll all like it.  
  
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Son Gohan knew this was to be his end. The androids had already decided to finish him off. He knew this, and still he had gone to fight, to try to save the androids' latest intended victims. That is just how the son of Goku was, he could never put his own well being above all of the innocent people that the emotionless, soulless beings that were so intent on hurting others. It seemed ironic that Gohan would die just as a haunting, dark storm was forming. How could one that had done so much good in his short life die under such circumstances? Yet, at the same time, it was fitting. With everything else the rain would wash away, so would the warrior's fight. Not only that, but just as everything begins anew after being cleansed by a daunting storm, and rises to be even better than it had once been; Gohan knew the same would happen with Trunks.  
  
Gohan knew that his death would pain Trunks, that it could even take a few years for the kid to get over it. Gohan also knew, that with his death, Trunks would get that push he needs to transform. Trunks would be the one to do it, he would be the one to defeat the androids. Gohan wasn't needed anymore, he was done.  
  
"How fitting," the blond android, Android 18, said as she smirked. It had started to rain, and booming thunder could be heard lightning would streak through the sky.  
  
"Yes," Said the raven haired Android 17, staring at Gohan with his cold, icy blue eyes, "this storm will be the perfect backdrop for your demise."  
  
Both androids attacked at once, much as they normally did. Yet, somehow, this was different. The androids were completely focused on this fight, this time, they were determined to get him the way they had failed to get him only a few short weeks ago. Last time they had intended to take his life, but had only managed to take his left arm. That was why they focused, because they now had a goal. There was a purpose to this fight, unlike all of the other fights. All of those other times, it had only been a game to them, and they knew that after he was gone, that they would have someone else to play with. They knew that Trunks would keep on fighting that for now, Trunks wasn't a threat to them.  
  
As the fight raged on, Gohan knew that they already had the upper hand. He couldn't fight both of them very well with only one arm for long, now when they were determined to have a certain end result.  
  
"You may kill me, but you will never kill what I represent. There will be others that will take my place!" Gohan shouted, trying to get out of his defensive mode, and do some damage to the androids. Gohan concentrated his energy, and shot it at Android 17, managing to send the android into a nearby building. However, Gohan's small victory was small lived.  
  
Androids 17 and 18 were soon side by side, and 18 moved behind 17. The next thing he saw did not scare him, it only confirmed that this was his end. A bright yellow light soon encompassed him, burning him, making him scream... Then, everything got dark...  
  
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The first thing Trunks noticed when he woke was how dark it was, he didn't understand what had happened... the last thing he could remember was that he and Gohan had been about to fight the androids. "No..." Trunks quickly stood, realizing what Gohan had done, and wasted no time in taking to the sky, flying toward the city that the androids had attacked. The city that was now in ruin.  
  
"Go-han!" Trunks called out to his mentor, hoping Gohan would answer, maybe give some kind of signal to show where he was. Yet, the only thing Trunks could hear was the rain, and could see nothing but the ruined city, the latest in the ever-growing list. "Go-han!" Still, there was no sign of Trunks' sensei, so Trunks kept flying, looking all over the city until he saw a bit of orange down on the ground.  
  
Trunks flew down quickly, and started walking toward the motionless orange lump. Trunks nearly panicked, it seemed as though Gohan had already died, but then, Trunks felt it. He could feel Gohan's ki! That meant Gohan was alive, though just barely. Trunks felt so relieved, he almost wanted to laugh, but now was not the time.  
  
Trunks quickly grabbed his mentor, and started flying home. His mother would be able to help Gohan, she would treat him, and he would be okay... then Trunks could yell at Gohan for nearly getting himself killed. Trunks looked at Gohan as he continued to fly home, he just didn't understand why Gohan had decided to face the androids alone. Gohan had to have known he didn't stand a chance against them alone without his arm, and that meant Gohan had gone to die.  
  
No! He couldn't believe that about Gohan, it just wasn't possible. Gohan wouldn't just give up on everything, he's worked to hard and long to just give up. Gohan wasn't like that, he just wasn't! If Gohan had taught Trunks anything it was to never give up. Giving up was not an option, especially for them, not when they had the lives of so many people relying on them. Gohan wouldn't do that to everyone.  
  
Trunks then flew down toward Capsule, and ran inside to find his mother, so she could save Gohan.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
So... was he dead? No, Gohan couldn't be dead, he hurt too much. Gohan groaned as he opened his eyes, then waited for everything to come into focus.  
  
He was in a bed at Capsule, but how? Gohan tried to talk, so he could get someone in there he could ask, only, he couldn't. Then he realized he couldn't talk because of the tube that was down his throat. So until someone decided to check on him, he was basically stuck . . . When Gohan looked around the room a little more, he could see that it was daytime now. The sky was clear, and the sun was bright.  
  
Gohan just didn't get how he could still be alive. Why hadn't the androids finished him? . . . Just goes to show how Gohan could mess-up once again, just as he always had, at least since the appearance of the androids.  
  
The first fight with them would continue to be the fight that he could remember most distinctly. Most of the fights since that first one have somewhat blended together, but that first attack . . . That day Gohan had lost his closest friends. One by one, the androids had slaughtered Earth's Special Forces. Tien, Chioutzu, Yamcha, Vegeta . . . They were they first to dies. Then the androids decided to turn it into a game as they continued to kill.  
  
Piccolo, Krillen, and Gohan knew not to face the androids one at a time. The three warriors worked together in an effort to survive. Then the androids had attacked Krillen, ki blasted him, he didn't stand a chance. Gohan had gone into a rage, just as he had so many times before. Gohan had attacked Android 17, surprising the android with the sudden burst of power, but Gohan's efforts meant nothing. Android 17 soon managed to get Gohan good, by managing to kick him in the gut and ki blast him into the ground.  
  
Gohan could hear Piccolo yell his name, but that was soon followed by a scream. When he opened his eyes, he saw both of them standing above him, looking at him as if amused.  
  
"What shall we do with this one 17?" It was the cool, confident voice of the female android. She put the tip of her boot under Gohan's chin, lifting his face up so she could get a better look at him.  
  
"He was fun to play with, I saw we leave him. We may have found ourselves a plaything to entertain ourselves with." Android 17 stated. Then Gohan saw them both smirk, and 18 pulled her foot away.  
  
"Fine," 18 said, "we will let him entertain us for a while before we finish him. He won't do us any good now though, let's get out of here."  
  
Gohan had lain there, unable to move, for what seemed like hours. When he did finally manage to stand, what he saw made him feel sick. The bodies of Earth's Special Forces . . . The mutilated corpse of Piccolo.  
  
Gohan had called for Nimbus, managed to get on, and had then passed out. The next thing he knew, he had been in his room with his mother. Then, for the next fourteen years, Gohan had continued to fight the androids. Only now, he no longer provided entertainment, he had become a threat. Gohan had gotten his fair share of injuries over the years, and luckily there was no evidence of most of them when he was in his gi. Only the scars on his face and lack of a left arm showed evidence of his battles.  
  
"Gohan, you're awake!"  
  
Gohan looked toward the door, it was Trunks. Gohan wanted to say or do something, but he couldn't. All he could do was lie there looking at Trunks.  
  
"MOM!" Trunks shouted, "Gohan woke up!"  
  
Gohan winced, Trunks' yelling really hurt his sensitive hearing. Gohan could tell that Trunks was really happy to see that he was awake, which only made him feel worse about what he had tried to let happen.  
  
"So soon?" Bulma called from another room, "You Saiyans, I swear." Bulma said as she walked in. Gohan almost smirked, Bulma had been surprised by how soon he had woken up after the last beating he'd gotten from the androids. Just one of the advantages of being a Saiyan . . .  
  
"Vitals are up, heart rate normal . . ." Bulma was checking some of the machines he was hooked up to, grinning just a bit as she did. "It looks like you're out of danger now, would you like to try breathing on your own?"  
  
Gohan nodded slightly, he was uncomfortable like this. He watched Bulma as she unhooked the attachment to the tube that was down his throat that had been helping him to breathe, and tested his lungs, focusing on breathing.  
  
"Alright, your lungs seemed to have healed." Bulma said as her hand went to the piece of plastic sticking out of his mouth. "On three I want you to blow hard."  
  
Gohan gave her a weak thumbs up, this wasn't the first time he had been put on a respirator, he knew how this went.  
  
"One . . .Two . . .Three!" Bulma then pulled on the tube, and it soon came out, and he started coughing for a little while, but soon got himself to stop.  
  
"How . . .long?" His voice was weak, hoarse. He could hardly talk.  
  
"It's been a little over three weeks," Bulma answered as she put the tube down, "we would have given you a sensu bean we managed to get a hold of, but we weren't sure you could eat it before your lungs would collapse. It's old, really old, I don't know what good it'll do."  
  
Trunks walked up to Gohan, and handed him the bean, and Gohan managed to eat it. He tasted the bitter juice of the bean, it seemed even worse than he remembered. It took a moment, but he felt a sudden rush of energy, and most of the ache in his body disappeared. "Thanks, that's a lot better."  
  
"I want to run some tests later," Bulma said quickly, staring at him. He knew that stare meant he wasn't to move until she did those tests, "but for now I'm going to finish dinner, I'm sure you're hungry Gohan."  
  
Gohan smiled, closing his eyes as he rubbed the back of his neck in his usual fashion. "I sure am!" Bulma simply shook her head as she walked out, obviously reminded once again of his father.  
  
Trunks then sat in the chair near Gohan's bed. Trunks didn't look as happy as he had been just a little while ago. His eyebrows were furrowed as if trying to decide something.  
  
"Spill." Gohan said as he sat up and leaned against the wall. "What's wrong?"  
  
Trunks stared at Gohan for a minute. "I want to know why."  
  
"Could you be more specific?" Gohan asked, he wasn't really sure how to answer that broad of an explanation.  
  
"Why did you do it? Why'd you knock me out and fight them alone?" Trunks was glaring at Gohan accusingly. Gohan could tell that Gohan had thought that would be his last fight against the androids.  
  
"There's no one reason Trunks," Gohan said slowly, "there were a lot of reasons I did what I did that night. Things just didn't work out like I'd planned."  
  
"You mean you didn't get to die." Trunks said coldly.  
  
"Trunks, it wasn't like that. I didn't want to die." Gohan stated calmly.  
  
"What did you want Gohan? Why did you go to die?" Trunks' voice was rising, as was his anger.  
  
"I wanted to satisfy the androids with myself so that when you fought them again they wouldn't kill you too. Trunks, with both of us gone Earth wouldn't stand a chance. The androids had already decided to finish me, I wanted to be sure they wouldn't get you too." Gohan crossed his arms, he always hated these kind of talks.  
  
"We could have faced them together, I'm stronger now. We could have won." Trunks still seemed angery.  
  
"Not yet Trunks, you aren't ready." Gohan paused for a while. "Look Trunks, I did what I did because I was convinced it was the right thing to do. I knew you'd beat them after I was gone." He looked at Trunks, who still didn't seem convinced. "Do you really think I would want to die? Leave my family and friends with even less protection from the androids?" Then Gohan saw Trunks' face fall, and hoped he'd convinced Trunks he didn't have a death wish.  
  
"Gohan, there's something I have to tell you . . ." Trunks looked upset, more so than before. Gohan felt suddenly worried, what could have happened in the past three weeks?  
  
"What is it Trunks?" Gohan asked quietly, sitting up straighter than before.  
  
"After Mom got a real doctor to come here to fix you up, she left Capsule. I stayed to make sure nothing happened while the doc worked. Things went well enough and you were brought in here. When Mom came back, she had someone with her. Mom figured that if you didn't make it, your Mom would like to see you once more."  
  
Gohan closed his eyes. Obviously something had happened to his mother.  
  
"She freaked when she saw you. Ox King was upset too, but focused on trying to comfort your Mom. She hardly left your side for two weeks, but then . . . you had a relapse. Your lungs collapsed, and you almost didn't make it. After that, she snapped. I had been out training, so there wasn't anybody that could actually stop her. Ox King went along, trying to convince her to just stay put at Capsule . . . I found them both the next day. Gohan, I'm sorry . . . but they're both dead."  
  
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So what do you all think? Please let me know by leaving a review! 


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